Seventeen out of twenty isn't too bad! It felt good to cross all of these off my TBR list. I enjoyed most of them to boot. Not too shabby at all.

I enjoyed this fun challenge and will definitely plan to join again next year.

1. Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser—I'm reading this biography to fulfill a prompt for the Pioneer Book Reading Challenge, but it's one I've been wanting to pick up ever since it came out. It's a biography of Wilder, as a woman, a pioneer, and a writer, with an emphasis on the development of the American West as she experienced it. I'm about 100 pages in and really enjoying the read.

2. Dust by Dusti Bowling (available August 1, 2023)—Bowling is a local author who writes middle-grade novels set here in Arizona. Her newest is about Avalyn, a girl with asthma whose parents relocate to a cleaner town in order to help her breathe better. It's working—until a strange new boy comes to town. Adam's dirty, unkempt appearance makes him a target for bullies. Although Avalyn wants to befriend him, the grit that always surrounds him is dangerous for her lungs. Besides, there's something decidedly odd about the way unlikely dust storms seem to rise up when he experiences strong emotions...

3. It Ends at Midnight by Harriet Tyce—There's been a rash of thrillers lately that involve a group of old friends reconvening, only to have the secrets and misdeeds of their pasts come back to haunt them. It's one of my favorite tropes, as long as it's done well. This thriller brings old friends back together for a glitzy party in Edinburgh, Scotland. The party, naturally, does not go quite as planned.

4. Beer and Loathing by Ellie Alexander—I enjoy the Sloane Krause cozy mystery series, which is set in the Bavarian tourist town of Leavenworth, Washington. (The quaint village is depicted much better on the previous covers than this one, which I don't love.) This newest installment (#6) has the brewer and her business partner investigating a suspicious death on a ski lift during the town's popular Ski Week. The victim's demise looks accidental, but Sloane is not convinced.

5. Murder at Haven's Rock by Kelley Armstrong—This year, I've been binge-reading/listening Armstrong's popular Rockton series. I love the books, so I'm all in for the spin-off series, which starts with this opener. Detective Casey Duncan and her husband, Sheriff Eric Dalton, are building a new Rockton, a place with the same function as the old town but without all the greed and beauracracy. Their excitement is tempered when two construction workers go missing in the woods. When one of their murdered bodies is discovered, it's up to Casey and Eric to figure out what happened.  

6. Crow Mary by Kathleen Grissom—This historical novel features a 16-year-old Crow Native woman who marries a white fur trader in 1872. On their travels together, they witness a mob of drunk white traders murder a group of Nakota men in Montana and take half a dozen of their women captive. Although Mary Crow begs her husband to save the captives, he refuses. Arming herself with two guns, Mary rushes in to do the job herself, setting off a string of events that forces a bloody clash between two already warring cultures. The story is inspired by a real woman, making it all the more intriguing.

7. The One and Only Ruby by Katherine Applegate—As a rule, I'm not a fan of books narrated by animals. Applegate's beloved The One and Only Ivan is an exception. I also enjoyed its sequel featuring Bob the dog. Another sequel, this one stars Ruby, Ivan and Bob's elephant friend. Applegate's heartfelt middle-grade novels are always a treat, so I'm excited for this one.

8. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Quest for Gold at the 1936 Olympics by Daniel James Brown—This non-fiction bestseller fits several prompts for reading challenges I'm doing. I've been meaning to read it anyway. It tells the story of a rowing team from the University of Washington that was made up of the sons of loggers, farmers, and dock workers. Against all odds, they beat teams of athletes from the world's most elite schools, including Hitler's German rowers.

9. A Bad Day for Sunshine by Darynda Jones—This series opener sounds super fun. It stars Sunshine Vicram, who returns to her small Nevada hometown after her parents secretly nominate her to be its sheriff. She accepts the position reluctantly, figuring it will be an easy gig. Not so. A teenage girl is missing, there's a kidnapper on the loose, and Sunshine's sexy ex is complicating everything. 

10. In Myrtle Peril by Elizabeth C. Bunce—I adore this middle-grade historical series about a perenially curious young girl who loves a good mystery. In this installment (#4), Myrtle's lawyer father is in the hospital with tonsilitis. With him out of commission, it's up to her to decide if a young girl who claims to be the rightful heir to a large fortune is who she says she is. Can she really be the sole survivor of a fatal voyage? If she's not the real heiress, then where is she?

There you are, ten more books I'm hoping to read this summer. What do you think? Have you read any of them? What's on your summer TBR list? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog. I also reply to comments left here.

Happy TTT!

I can't tell exactly what the plot of this novel is, but I trust Zevin to deliver a powerful read. I'm looking forward to checking this one out soon.

2. Upgrade by Blake Crouch (available July 12)—I'm not much for sci-fi, but I do love Crouch's immersive, engrossing mind-benders. His newest concerns Logan Ramsay, an ordinary guy with a dark past, who's been chosen for a genome upgrade. As Logan feels himself changing into something a little more—and a little less—than human, he wonders if evolving in this way is really the only way to save his species.

3. We Made It All Up by Margot Harrison (available July 12)—Moving from Montreal to Montana leaves Celeste feeling lonely and out of place. She finds solace in writing a fan fiction love story between the school's most popular guy and its resident stoner. When, at the urging of her only friend, Celeste tries to create reality out of her fantasy, a boy ends up dead. Celeste can't remember what happened on that fateful night. Is she responsible for his death? 

This YA mystery/thriller sounds intriguing!

4. The Night Ship by Jess Kidd (available August 4)—Based on the real-life story of Batavia, a ship that wrecked on an Australian island in the 17th Century, this dual-timeline tale sounds epic. Can't wait. 

5. Madwoman by Louisa Treger (available August 23)—Nellie Bly's famous investigative sojourn in an insane asylum on Blackwell's Island, New York, is the subject of this historical novel. 

6. The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (available August 30)—I've enjoyed this Knives Out-ish YA series and am looking forward to seeing how the story ends in this finale to the trilogy.

7. The Winter Orphans by Kristin Beck (available September 13)—Based on the true story of young World War II refugees who fled over snow-covered French mountain passes to escape the Nazis, this historical novel features a group of children hiding in a crumbling castle overseen by Swiss nurses. When Germany invades southern France, their safe haven is no more. Can the children's protectors smuggle them over the dangerous passes to safety? Or will all of their lives be lost in the attempt?

8. Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister (available September 20)—This twisty psychological thriller sounds unique and compelling. It's about a mother who is shocked when she witnesses her funny, good-natured 17-year-old son murder a man in cold blood. When he's taken into custody, she's shattered with no idea what to do next. Upon awakening the next morning, she's stunned to realize that she's reliving the day of the murder. The next morning, she rewinds another day, then another. With time moving backward, can she figure out a way to stop the murder she witnessed before it happens? 

9. In Myrtle Peril by Elizabeth C. Bunce (available October 4)—I adore this middle-grade mystery series, so I'm excited for the next installment. In this fourth book, an heiress who was presumed to be lost at sea returns to claim her fortune. Myrtle's father is hired to determine whether the young lady is truly who she says she is. When he is waylaid by tonsilitis, it's up to Myrtle to solve the mystery as well as a murder her father may—or may not—have witnessed while in the throes of a fever.

10. Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng (available October 4)—Ng's newest is hard to describe, but it sounds fresh and interesting. Here's the official plot summary:

Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner lives a quiet existence with his loving but broken father, a former linguist who now shelves books in a university library. Bird knows to not ask too many questions, stand out too much, or stray too far. For a decade, their lives have been governed by laws written to preserve “American culture” in the wake of years of economic instability and violence. To keep the peace and restore prosperity, the authorities are now allowed to relocate children of dissidents, especially those of Asian origin, and libraries have been forced to remove books seen as unpatriotic—including the work of Bird’s mother, Margaret, a Chinese American poet who left the family when he was nine years old.
 
Bird has grown up disavowing his mother and her poems; he doesn’t know her work or what happened to her, and he knows he shouldn’t wonder. But when he receives a mysterious letter containing only a cryptic drawing, he is pulled into a quest to find her. His journey will take him back to the many folktales she poured into his head as a child, through the ranks of an underground network of librarians, into the lives of the children who have been taken, and finally to New York City, where a new act of defiance may be the beginning of much-needed change.
 
Our Missing Hearts is an old story made new, of the ways supposedly civilized communities can ignore the most searing injustice. It’s a story about the power—and limitations—of art to create change, the lessons and legacies we pass on to our children, and how any of us can survive a broken world with our hearts intact.

There you go, ten up-and-comers I'm eager to read. What do you think of my list? Are you excited about any of these? What new releases are you most looking forward to? I'd love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.

Happy TTT!